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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-OR-65 • STATE OF INDIANA BEFORE THE JEFFERSONVILLE COMMON COUNCIL Ordinance 2011 -OR- 65 An Ordinance Amending 2010 -011-18 and 2011 -OR- 3 Regulating Taxicab Service and Taxicab Drivers in the City of Jeffersonville WHEREAS, the Common Council of the City ofJeffersonville is the city legislative body and is by Indiana law authorized to adopt ordinances and resolutions concerning the general public welfare of the residents of the City ofJeffersonville. WHEREAS, the common council of the City ofJeffersonville believes it is important to create regulations and procedures for taxicab service and taxicab drivers within the city: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED as follows: CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS SECTION 1. DEFINI'T'IONS. For the purpose of this chapter, the following definition shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning TAXICAB. Every motor vehicle used within the limits of the city for public hire, carrying passengers for hire or furnishing for use passenger transportation for hire along or over the public streets or other highways within the city, the destination or route of which is under the direction of a passenger being transported therein. However, the term TAXICAB shall not be taken to mean any ambulance, city passenger bus or school bus. CHAPTER 2 TAXICAB BUSINESS OPERATOR SECTION 1 COMPLIANCE WITH REGUI,ATIONS REQUIRED. No person or persons, firm or corporation shall drive, run or operate any taxicab upon or along any street or other highway in the city, with the intent of picking up a fare within the City of Jeffersonville, without having complied with the regulations, terms and conditions established by this chapter • SECTION 2 LICENSE REQUIRED; APPLICATION. Any person or persons, firm or corporation desiring to operate a taxicab or taxicab service upon or along the streets or other highways within the city, shall, before undertaking to do so, file a signed application form in writing for a license, duly sworn to by the applicant or applicants with the Jeffersonville Police Department, which application shall show the following: (A) The name and address of the person, persons, partnership, firm or corporation desiring the firm; if a partnership or firm, the full name and address of each of the members thereof; if a corporation, the name and address of each of the officers thereof; (13) The applicant is financially able to render taxicab services as applied for and has the financial backing, including liabilities, as required by the city; (C) The applicant owns and is the sole owner of the taxicabs described in division (D) below in his or her service; and (D) The make, model, vehicle identification number and state license number of each motor vehicle to be driven and operated as a taxicab, the length of time each taxicab has been in use, the number of passengers each vehicle is capable of carrying. SECTION 3 LICENSE FEE. (A) Upon the filing of an application, the Board of Public Works shall then pass upon the application, taking into consideration the applicant, his or her financial standing, and his or her equipment for rendering taxicab service in the city. If the Board of Public Works finds that it is for the best interests of the city and the citizens thereof that the applicant be issued a license to operate a taxicab service, then the Board of Public Works shall instruct the Jeffersonville Police Department to issue a license upon the compliance of the applicant with all other provisions. (B) The Jeffersonville Police Department shall issue to the applicant, upon the approval of the Board of Public Works as above, a license upon the payment of a fee of $70 for the first taxicab to be operated, and *10 for each taxicab thereafter, for any calendar year or fraction thereof the cab(s) is/are operated. The Board of Public Works and Safety shall consider each renewal and shall inform the Jeffersonville Police Department of its decision to renew or deny renewal for each subsequent year. The license shall continue in effect from calendar year to calendar year until revoked by the Board of Public Works so long as the applicant or licensee shall pay into the hands of the Jeffersonville Police Department the license fee herein prescribed on or before January 10 of each year. The license may be in the form of a window sticker or license plate which may indicate as a Jeffersonville license. 2 • SECTION 4 ISSUANCE OF LICENSE. Upon filing the application, approval thereof by the Board of Public Works, and payment of the required fees as fixed in Chapter 2, Section 3, and provided the other stipulations and conditions hereof have been met, the Jeffersonville Police Department shall issue to the applicant a license permitting the operation of the motor vehicle or motor vehicles described in the application for one year, commencing January 1 and ending December 31 of each year, subject to revocation as hereinafter provided. The number of taxicab licenses issued by the Board of Public Works and Safety shall be based upon the public convenience and necessity for such taxicabs, but the maximum number of such licenses to be issued shall be 1,000, with no more than 150 issued to any one person, persons, firm or corporation. SECTION 5 INSURANCE REQUIRED. (A) No license shall be issued and no taxicab shall be operated on any street or highway within the city until there is filed with the Jeffersonville Police Department a policy of insurance executed by a company authorized to execute such instruments under the laws of the state, running for the year of the license to be issued to the applicant as provided in Chapter 2, Section 4. (B) The insurance policy shall provide for the payment of any final judgment that may be rendered against the insured for damages to property, bodily injuries or death of any passenger or passengers or any other person or persons resulting from collision or other accident for which the person, persons, firm or corporation may be found liable while operating the taxicab described in the application, in a sum not Tess than the state statutory minimums for property damage and for injury or death of any person or persons. SECTION 6 PRINCIPLE PLACE OF BUSINESS REQUIRED. No license shall be granted or issued to any person or persons, firm or corporation to operate any taxicab unless that person, persons, firm or corporation has a fixed and permanent office, residence or place of business from which to operate, control and regulate the operation of the taxicabs. SECTION 7 TAXICABS TO HAVE IDENTIFYING SIGNS. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to use any motor vehicle for taxicab services unless that vehicle is designated as a taxicab by two or more colored signs, which signs must be permanently painted of a fast color on the body of the vehicle, or composed of automobile decal lettering intended to be permanently affixed to the vehicle. The signage must designate the person, persons, firm or corporation to which the vehicle belongs, and must be readable at 150 feet or more by a person of normal vision. Limousines shall be exempt from this requirement. 3 SECTION 8 TAXICAB DRIVERS. It shall be the obligation of the owner or operator of any taxicab company which has secured a license(s) to operate in the city to ascertain that each driver employed by that operator has obtained a state - required license to operate for hire passenger - transporting conveyances. Each driver shall present his or her license to the Jeffersonville Police Department, prior to entering any employment as a driver for the inspection of the Police Department, and the driver shall be instructed with respect to traffic ordinances of the city. SECTION 9 TAXICAB STANDS; FEES. The Board of Public Works may set aside near the place of business of the taxicab operator, not to exceed one parking space for each taxicab upon which a fee of $20 per space has been paid, and hold such spaces open as a cab stand. The cab stands shall not be subject to parking meter charges, but the operator shall pay the sum of $25 per year for each cab stand. Said space(s) shall only be for the use and utilization of taxicabs for parking, any other vehicles found in such designation shall be subject to penalty herein. SECTION 10 REVOCATION OF LICENSE; HEARING. (A) The Board of Public Works may suspend or revoke the license issued to and for any taxicab or taxicabs for the violation of this ordinance, whether or not any criminal prosecution of the licensee is pending, upon proof and hearing thereof. (B) Any license issued to any owner or owners, operator or operators under the terms and conditions of this chapter may be revoked or indefinitely suspended by the Board of Public Works, upon failure of the owner, owners, operator or operators to operate a taxicab or taxicabs in compliance with the terms of this chapter and the laws of the state. However, the owner or owners, operator or operators of each taxicab shall be given five days' written notice of the violation, and upon hearing and proof thereof the license for the taxicab or taxicabs may be suspended for a definite period or revoked. SECTION 11 INSPECTIONS. Any vehicle used as a taxicab shall submit, upon request, to a safety inspection by a member of the Police Department or the department's designee and further shall submit, upon request, to inspection and verification of all meters or rate devices by the Department of Weights and Measures or the Department's designee. SECTION 12 RATES. (A) The rates charged by a taxicab service shall not exceed the following: (1) $4.10 for the first mile or less; $1.95 for each additional mile; and 4 (2) Thirty cents ($.30) for each minute of waiting. (B) No taxicab service may charge a rate less than 80% of the maximum charges outlined in divisions (AXI) and (2) above. No additional charge may be made for the following: luggage, grocery bags, laundry, wheelchairs, seeing -eye dogs. ( C) A passenger surcharge of $3 per passenger, beginning with the 5 passenger, will be allowed to be added to the metered fare. CHAPTER 3. TAXICAB DRIVERS SECTION 1 LICENSE REQUIRED. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a taxicab as a driver within the city without first having secured a license to do so from the city. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a taxicab as a driver thereof without having on his or her person a taxicab driver's license issued by the city, and a state issued Chauffeur's License. SECTION 2 TAXICAB DRIVER'S LICENSE APPLICATION. Every person desiring to drive a taxicab in the city must be eighteen (18) years of age or older and shall file an application in writing for a taxicab driver's license., duly sworn by the applicant, with the Jeffersonville Police Department which application shall show the following: (A) The name and present address of the applicant; (B) The address of each place of residence of the applicant during the last two years prior to the date of the application; (C) The place of employment, the kind of employment and the name of each of the employers of the applicant for the last five years immediately preceding the date of the application; (D) The applicant's experience in automobile operation; (E) Whether or not the applicant has ever been charged or convicted in any court for any crime or misdemeanor and, if so, the facts and details concerning each conviction; (F) Attach 1 photograph of applicant. (G) The applicant's state driver's license number; and (II) The applicant shall also at the time of filing an application for a taxicab driver's license, pay to the Jeffersonville Police Department the sum of $25 as an annual taxicab driver's license. The license shall expire December 31 every year, unless it is revoked pursuant to the provisions of this Ordinance. 5 SECTION 3 REFUSAL TO ISSUE. No taxicab driver's license shall be issued to any person who does not meet the requirements set forth in I.C. 9-24-1 et seq. and who does not hold a valid Chauffeur's License. In addition, all applicants for a taxicab driver's license shall provide all information concerning any violations, past, present or future, of any local, state or federal laws, and shall submit certified results of initial drug testing, and random drug testing at lease annually thereafter from a private drug - testing contractor approved by the Board of Public Works. Violation of any local, state or federal laws or failure of any drug test shall be adequate ends for non - issuance, revocation or non - renewal of a taxicab driver's license. SECTION 4 CONDITIONAL LICENSE. Notwithstanding any of the express provisions of this chapter, the Board of Public Works may, in its discretion, issue a conditional license which shall, along with the regular license, be subject to immediate revocation for any period the Board may determine, upon the licensee being convicted of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any charge involving moral turpitude. SECTION 5 EMPLOYMENT OF UNLICENSED DRIVERS PROHIBITED. No person, firm or corporation licensed to operate taxicabs under this Ordinance shall employ any person as a taxicab driver in the city unless that taxicab driver has been duly licensed in accordance with the provisions herein. SECTION 6 DISPLAY OF TAXICAB DRIVER'S LICENSE Every person who holds a taxicab driver's license shall display it in a prominent place within the taxicab which he is driving. SECTION 7 REVOCATION OF TAXICAB DRIVER'S LICENSE A taxicab driver's license shall be subject to revocation, after a hearing before the Board of Public Works as Safety, for any violation by that person of any traffic law or any provisions herein. SECTION 8 CONDUCT•OF DRIVERS. Every person driving a taxicab shall be courteous, refrain from swearing, loud talk, or boisterous conduct, and shall deal honestly with the public and with his employer. CHAPTER 4 FINES, FEES AND PENALTIES SECTION 1 ESTABLISHMENT The Board of Public Works and Safety shall have the authority to reestablish any or all of the fees, fines and/or penalties within this ordinance at any time after December 31, 2011 6 • SECTION 2 PENALTY. (A) Any person who violates this chapter by /or causing the operation of a taxicab contrary to the provisions herein shall be fined not less than $250 and not more than $2,500. Any action wherein the imposition of a fine is sought shall be in the form of a separate action, apart from any action proscribed herein, and shall be before the Jeffersonville City Court. The Jeffersonville City Court Judge may take into consideration any determination made by an administrative board in considering what, if any penalty is appropriate. Each day a violation of this ordinance continues shall be considered a separate violation. (B) The Board of Public Works may suspend or revoke the license of any business or individual who violates the provisions of this chapter. Each day a violation continues shall be deemed a separate violation. This Ordinance shall be in fall force and a ec upon its adoption SO ORDAINED on this 2,1 day ofk)p , 2011. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval. Passed this p J ( day of /?t . re-4 2011. omas Ualligan, i cer ATTEST: P dder Clerk and Treasurer , Presented by me as Clerk and Treasurer to the Mayor of said City of Jeffersonville this 2 016 day of lact n.Qn.ac, , 2011. a , . Loco. ) P _ 7 � i lder Clerk and Treasurer This ordinance approved and signed by me this; f d / � ay of �/LG , 2011. � - ti ( Galligan, 'resi "Officer 7